(By Loyd Ford) So we’ve been having a strange year. CUME saw a significant and dramatic dip in spring (certainly at work) and things haven’t exactly returned to business as usual in many radio markets. This is the year of disruption for listeners coast to coast and it also represents a real opportunity for individual brands to re-earn their place in the lives of listeners. Programmers see disruption in about as many different ways as there are programmers in the United States.
Thinking About Disruption
What do you think about when it comes to disruption of listening, at home opportunities and the splintering ways of the “new normal?” This week we focus on two key areas that are often overlooked by programmers and should get even more attention during and after any period of disruption.
- Discovery Of Brand – If you’ve not spent time thinking about how listeners discover your brand and how you can enhance this, I encourage you to spend a not insignificant period of time focused on this. Discovery of brand isn’t only about how people are choosing or sampling you. It is also about how long it takes them to get what they are looking for when they sample your radio station. If they don’t find it quickly, your opportunity can disappear as rapidly as it showed up. You need to have a plan and listeners should be impacted rapidly upon trying your brand.
- Balance Is Critical – When listeners spend time on your station, is there balance and consistency in every part of your sound hour? I sometimes hear very generic stations across the country. Stations can be different, but winning stations often have common identifiable traits that make them pop, sizzle and hum at the right intervals. That comes with great balance in your sound hours and that goes beyond music balance. What you tell listeners about the station experience is important in attaching them to you for longer listening.
- Do you tell listeners how to use your brand? Is it easy for them to understand your uniqueness and what makes your station special? If it isn’t easy to understand and your brand doesn’t explain to listeners how to best use the brand, the morning show, middays, afternoons, weekends, there’s probably work to do. Many programmers in 2020 assume listeners just know. Often they are just too busy. Don’t take this for granted or you could be left out in the cold after periods of disruption.
- Do you have true benefits for listening represented on your station? If you’re honest, is your station really unique in your market? Disruption doesn’t just mean that you could lose listeners; your competitors can lose audience, too. Being on-point and making your station unique, fresh and up to date with benefits of listening your target audience can quickly understand and easily relate to today is one of the most critical ways to win now. Don’t put your benefits up-front and you may pay a cold, hard price for it.
- Are you thinking about your earned external images? In today’s world, creativity is the new currency. If your company allows you to use yours, be smart and make sure you are fitting the company culture. Make the most of your opportunities outside the station to move your brand forward. You know better than anyone that waiting for the company to use significant marketing for you is often futile. You’ll still be charged with the responsibility of growing audience.
The old days are truly gone. This is the true era of disruption. I have a saying I like a lot. “Good things and bad things happen to everyone.” That essentially means that if things are bad where you are, they are in no way guaranteed to stay that way. Hard work always pays off and good things are coming to those who use solid strategy, a good work ethic and strong execution to give listeners unique, special radio that isn’t a commodity.
You can’t control everything in a complex and fast moving world, but you can control the messages you send listeners and you can improve your focus on how people discover your brand. You are in charge of helping listeners learn to use your brand. Now is not a time to take for granted that they “just know.”
Disruption can be tough, but it can also be your friend. This is an era where you can also be better than your competitors. Don’t forget to look at it as an opportunity to take share in your market.
Loyd Ford consults radio stations, coaches personalities, and provides behavioral and strategic programming to radio with RPC. Reach him anytime. 864.448.4169 or [email protected].
